JUST WATCHED

Gov. Cuomo: Mother Nature is pretty tough today

MUST WATCH

Story highlights

Some 30 inches of snow may be on ground in downstate New York by storm's end

Mayor Bill de Blasio: "We're going into uncharted territory"

New York (CNN)Natalie DiVecceli stood outside Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital hoping her ride home would show up before the road travel ban in New York City.

"The city's closing down," she said.

A paramedic from Queens, DiVecceli said her ambulance had been stuck Saturday morning when the first of the more than 20 inches of snow expected to pound the city began falling.

In the back of the ambulance, DiVecceli's partner tended to a man with abdominal pains.

DiVecceli asked a group of building workers whether she could borrow a shovel to free the ambulance. The men said no. She "put the gas to the floor" and the ambulance, finally, jumped out of the snow trap, she said.

The blizzard will almost certainly be among New York City's "top five snowstorms" in recorded history in terms of accumulation, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

"We're going into uncharted territory," de Blasio said.

New York announced three storm-related deaths Saturday -- one on Staten Island and two in Queens -- with authorities fearing the city's count would go higher in the days ahead.

Forecasters reported six inches of snow in Central Park by 7 a.m. By the afternoon, more than 14 inches had fallen.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency and urged residents to stay home. The snow fell as fast as 3 inches an hour.

Buses stopped running at midday, roads closed to all but nonemergency vehicles at 2:30 p.m., elevated train lines were shuttered at 4:30 p.m. and all Broadway matinee and evening performances were canceled. The sound of clanking chains on the wheels of plows replaced the din of weekend traffic.

"This is bad, and it's getting worse rapidly," de Blasio said.

Fun with snow, instead of sand

At The Flame Restaurant on Ninth Avenue -- which is normally open 24 hours -- a sign announcing that it was closing for the day went up shortly after midday Saturday. Workers, mostly immigrants, huddled to discuss ways to get home. Others called family members on cell phones.

"It's time for businesses to shut down and get their employees home right away," de Blasio said at a press conference earlier.

In Times Square, a group of tourists from Nottingham, England, headed back to their hotel rooms after a late-morning breakfast. Their flight to the Cayman Islands had been canceled.

"We were hoping to be in Caribbean, relaxing with a nice drink on the beach but not," one of them told CNN. "There could be worse places to be."

JUST WATCHED

Steven Tyler: Stay inside and drink hot chocolate

MUST WATCH

"We're going to play like children in the snow," said another. "This is an opportunity to relive our childhood."

For Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and his daughter Mia, out for a stroll near Central Park, the snow also brought back memories.

"We grew up playing in the snow and doing snow angels," she told CNN's Poppy Harlow. "He's a big kid."

Tyler's advise to New Yorkers: "Stay home. Two words: hot chocolate."

He had never experienced snow

On Manhattan's Upper West Side, Luis Abraham Garcia pushed a tall, wheeled suitcase through the snow-covered sidewalks. The wind-driven flakes appeared to descend sideways, pelting his face and eyes.

A doctoral student visiting from Mexico City, Garcia, 29, was supposed to fly back home Friday from Washington, D.C., but that flight was canceled. With his New York flight also canceled, he was making a 22-hour train ride to Chicago, where he would try again to fly home.

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Long Island Railroad workers clear snow off train tracks in Port Washington, New York, on Monday, January 25. A massive winter storm clobbered the East Coast this weekend, shutting down travel in many of the nation's largest cities.

Hide Caption

1 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People shovel snow from a covered street in Wilmington, Delaware, on January 25.

Hide Caption

2 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Pirjo Garby, left, and Tom Henry, both of Washington, sit near the Tidal Basin and watch the sunset behind the Jefferson Memorial on Sunday, January 24.

Hide Caption

3 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Snow is cleared along a street in the Upper West Side neighborhood of New York on January 24.

Hide Caption

4 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People dig out their cars in Alexandria, Virginia, on January 24.

Hide Caption

5 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A taxi driver in Washington tries to get his car out of the snow on January 24.

Hide Caption

6 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Workers clear snow from Long Island Railroad tracks on January 24.

Hide Caption

7 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Snow is piled in front of the U.S. Capitol on January 24.

Hide Caption

8 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Workers remove snow on the tarmac at Ronald Reagan National Airport on January 24.

Hide Caption

9 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People cross a snow- and slush-covered street in New York on January 24.

Hide Caption

10 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A man walks with a shovel past a line of snowed-in cars in Washington on January 24.

Hide Caption

11 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

North Wildwood, New Jersey, experienced flooding from the storm.

Hide Caption

12 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Crews clear a bridge in Lynchburg, Virginia, on January 24.

Hide Caption

13 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Beatrice Evangeline, 3, walks through a narrow shoveled-out path in Philadelphia on January 24.

Hide Caption

14 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Joe Damico, deputy director of the Virginia Department of General Services, shovels a walkway to the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, on January 24.

Hide Caption

15 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Police cars remain covered in snow in New York on January 24.

Hide Caption

16 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Quan Hill, left, and Lamont Hobson shovel their driveway in Lynchburg on January 24.

Hide Caption

17 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Workers clean a snow-covered street in New York's Times Square on January 24.

Hide Caption

18 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Crews work to remove the snow from a highway in Washington on January 24.

Hide Caption

19 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A family tries to push out a snow-bound car in Philadelphia on January 24.

Hide Caption

20 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A boat is partly submerged in high water in Middle Township, New Jersey, on January 24.

Hide Caption

21 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A fire hydrant peeks out of deep snow in Centreville, Virginia, early on January 24.

Hide Caption

22 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A pedestrian in Washington walks south on 13th Street on Saturday, January 23.

Hide Caption

23 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A women walks toward the steamship ferry terminal in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on January 23.

Hide Caption

24 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Chris Holder, left, and Chris Hauger try to push a loaded six-wheel salt truck in Baltimore on January 23.

Hide Caption

25 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A line of cars and trucks were stuck along the Pennsylvania Turnpike on January 23.

Hide Caption

26 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Michael McDonald attempts to pull his friend's car out of snow in Irvington, New York, on January 23. As his friend steered and gently accelerated, McDonald was able to get the car out of the snow and up the hill.

Hide Caption

27 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People make their way down a street in Jersey City, New Jersey, on January 23.

Hide Caption

28 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Headstones jut from the snow at Arlington National Cemetery.

Hide Caption

29 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

New York's Times Square was blanketed in snow on January 23.

Hide Caption

30 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People help push a car out of the snow as another motorist tows it in Richmond on January 23.

Hide Caption

31 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Secret Service officers push a police car stuck in front of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington on January 23.

Hide Caption

32 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A man walks by Federal Hall in New York on January 23.

Hide Caption

33 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A New York City transit worker shovels snow from a subway platform on January 23.

Hide Caption

34 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Soldiers and a Washington firefighter in a Humvee assist a stranded motorist in Washington on January 23.

Hide Caption

35 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A New York City police officer uses a snow blower to clean the sidewalks on January 23.

Hide Caption

36 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

People walk across Philadelphia's Market Street as snow falls during the evening commute on Friday, January 22.

Hide Caption

37 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Crews clear the East Plaza at the U.S. Capitol as they try to keep up with the heavy snow on January 22.

Hide Caption

38 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A man walks in the snow in Washington on January 22.

Hide Caption

39 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

An accident victim near Richmond removes belongings from a car along Interstate 95 on January 22.

Hide Caption

40 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

North Carolina state troopers respond to an accident involving a tractor-trailer in Whitsett, North Carolina, on January 22.

Hide Caption

41 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Vehicles move along Interstate 85 as a sign warns about adverse conditions in Greensboro, North Carolina, on January 22.

Hide Caption

42 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A man carts home groceries as snow falls in Towson, Maryland, on January 22.

Hide Caption

43 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Snow is shoveled outside the entrance of the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee, on January 22.

Hide Caption

44 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A 9-year-old boy shovels the sidewalk at his house in Bowling Green, Kentucky, on January 22.

Hide Caption

45 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Snow slows down traffic on Interstate 40 in Nashville on Friday, January 22.

Hide Caption

46 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Duke Energy employees work to restore power in Matthews, North Carolina, on January 22.

Hide Caption

47 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A person walks through the blowing snow in Bowling Green on January 22.

Hide Caption

48 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A man cleans his windshield wipers at a stop light in Bowling Green on January 22.

Hide Caption

49 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

Snow plows make their way north along Interstate 95 as snow begins to fall in Ashland, Virginia, on January 22.

Hide Caption

50 of 51

Photos:Winter storm brings snow to East Coast

A woman in Lynchburg shovels the sidewalks in front of her house on January 22.

Hide Caption

51 of 51

"I planned to visit Chicago next year, but I'll get there earlier," he said.

This was Garcia's first snowstorm.

"It's irritating because of the delays but it's also very exciting," he said. "This is all new to me. I've never seen snow like this. I've been to New York during other seasons -- in the cold and the heat -- but never saw it under a blanket of snow."

Juana Estevez, 64, trudged 14 blocks to her job as a home care attendant. There were no buses in sight.

"I'm running late," Estevez said, the wind blowing her umbrella to the side.

"I enjoy the snow," she said. "It's beautiful. I love it. I'm doing good so far. I have good boots."

Few cars traversed streets populated by fleets of plows and salt trucks.

"I'm happy," Estevez said. "I'm relaxed. It's the first snow we get this year. It's about time. It cleans the air. It cleans up the ground. The city looks cleaner. It's wonderful for now."